09.06.2022

The start of the 36th edition of the Mini Fastnet is scheduled for Sunday 12th June 2022, in Douarnenez. The pontoons are full of Minis 650, all the registered boats have answered the call and there are 85 boats or 170 skippers preparing for this mythical race. Mythical because they are seeking out  the Fastnet lighthouse in the south of Ireland, 300 nautical miles from Douarnenez and then returning  to the town with three ports. But doubt is hanging over the pontoons, will the course be maintained? In 2021, the Mini Fastnet went south because of the pandemic, this year the skippers hope that the weather will not have the same effect on the course! This 600 nautical mile race is raced in pairs: a skipper who usually owns the boat and a co-skipper.

The co-skipper can be either a former Mini racer, like Benoît Hantzperg, Tanguy Bouroullec and François Jambou, or a friend tempted by this race or a family member, as is the case for Martin Revol on the 835, who invited  his brother to race with him. This family man, after a year and a half of sailing with his kids, devotes his free time to Minis races. “I don’t have the ambition to win, I’m just looking to progress“, says the 40 year old windsurfer.

The regatta currently has about a quarter  prototypes, 12% female participation and several European and international nationalities such as Japan, the United States and Canada. The day before the race, on June 11th, a prologue will be run in the Bay of Douarnenez, to test the boat, the location beacons … and the crews! Indeed, many of the co-skippers have not yet sailed the boat on which they will  race. A light westerly breeze is expected for the Prologue which consists of a small triangle or banana course. “We’ll be on a short course, so we’ll  have to be careful not to damage  the boat before the real race starts” says Romain Gautreau on the 814 Solidarités Internationale. This year, a non-compulsory medical briefing,   and access to the on-board pharmacy is offered to the skippers  by Marine Roland, a sports doctor.

After a summery Prologue last Saturday, 82 crews, 137 men and 27 women, set off from Douarnenez on the afternoon of Sunday 13th June, heading south, towards the BXA, still under the great anticyclone that dominated the whole of France. The tension on the line and the desire to fight it out were palpable, so much so that a general reminder  preceded the start to this 35th Mini-Fastnet without the Fastnet.

The passage of the Raz was already a test for some. The lack of wind left some of them stuck just before  the Bay of Audierne. We even wondered if all of them would pass with the tide.

27 women were at the start, and it was they who took the first places on this first night of the race. Chloé Le Bars and Lina Rixgens on the 1007-Association MJ pour l’Enfance in the Series and Nolwen Pébelier with Frédéric Moreau on the prototype 787 – DECOSAIL were leading the race on the morning of June 14th. This was followed by a long and hot day in light downwind conditions to sail down to Yeu. Irina Gracheva and Mickael Ryking moved up to the front of the fleet, while Pierre Le Roy and Cedric Faron took a good option that put them at the head of the race, and 914-Velotrade, 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site and 893-Groupe Adre found themselves in the leaders of the Series category for the descent towards the BXA. It was on this descent to the south that Tanguy Bouroullec and Guillaume L’Hostis on the POGOFOILER made up the deficit on the frontrunners, and it was also at this point that the prototypes numbered 12 at  the head of the race, which delighted many.

From Tuesday morning, after the passage of the BXA, the race became a giant speed test over 200 nautical miles to the tip of Brittany. After 17 hours of close-hauled racing, the Chaussée de Sein was a merciless judge and on a bad tack, the 1019 TeamWork prototype, which had resisted its pursuer up to that point, let the POGOFOILER escape and went straight to victory. In the Series, the match was very tight and everyone was watching each other closely  during the ascent to Sein. “We didn’t sleep as much as in a solo race,” said race winners Gaël Ledoux and Julien Pulvé on the 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site.

There may not have been a Fastnet, even if some said that the weather at the finish reminded them of it, but even so it was  a really good  race full of adventure and suspense.

Have a great summer and good luck to the chosen  ones in the Mini-Transat 2021.

See you next year!

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr

In the Prototypes, the battle for first and fourth place was close, even very close, between the 787 and the 800 (4th and 5th) skippered by Nolwen Pébelier-Frederic MOREAU and Irina Gracheva-Mickael Ryking, who were only 7 seconds apart. For the leaders, it all came down to the negotiation  of the West  Sein buoy. When POGO FOILER negotiated the approach to the mark much better they managed to open up a gap of more than 4 nautical miles over 1019 TeamWork, which had been leading for most of the race. At the finish, they were separated by an hour. Victor Turpin and Antoine Perrin’s 850-Pays d’Iroise completed the trio after a great race at the front after Yeu.

In the Series, they didn’t give up either, especially on the long 200-nautical mile leg from the BXA, which looked like a speed test. They also had to stay on the ball when they reached the Chaussée de Sein, when the wind and sea became stronger. The conditions were not ideal for the Maxi’s and the podium was taken by the Pogo 3. Exhausted and happy to have arrived after a suspenseful race, Gaël Ledoux, accompanied by Julien Pulvé, took his first victory (in Series) on his boat 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site. The 893-Groupe Adre – of Cecile Andrieu and Remi Aubrun and the 914-Velotrade of Brieuc Lebec and Charles D’Orange made 2nd and 3rd respectively, 33 and 36 minutes behind the leaders after 3 days and 4 hours of racing.

The race continues! And the final boats are expected at best tomorrow afternoon.

(photo of the first 3 crews)

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr

After a hard fight with the 1019 TeamWork, the 969 POGO FOILER made the difference at the end of the course by leaving their opponent more than an hour behind. It all came down to the passage of the Chaussée de Sein. The beginning of the race up to the BXA seemed quite calm to Tanguy and Guillaume although they had to make up for the time lost when they passed Yeu. It was on the way upwind that things got tense: “There was a lot of suspense, we didn’t want to let go of anything“. At Basse Vieille, they broke their bowsprit. They arrived a little burnt out but happy in the warm rain after 3 days 15 hours 25′ 05s of racing.

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr

It was yesterday at around 22:30 that the 1019 – TeamWork and the 969-POGOFOILER crossed paths, 20 nautical  miles below the Occidentale de Sein. It was at this point that Tanguy Bouroullec and Guillaume L’Hostis took the lead. They then passed  the western buoy  of the Chaussée de Sein just before 03:00  this morning with a 45 minute lead. At 04:30, 22 nautical miles from the finish, they were doing  almost 10 knots with a lead of almost 10 nautical miles. Pierre Le Roy and Cedric Faron are only doing  7.5 knots… a mechanical problem?

Behind them, the 850-Pays d’Iroise is well placed to keep its third position, followed by the 800-Irina Gracheva Racing, the 787-DECOSAIL and the 930-Cassiopee.

With 50 nautical miles to go, the 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site remains the leader of the series with a lead of less than 2 nautical miles over its pursuers, the 914-Velotrade, the 920-SIGNFORCOM and the 966-LES ALPHAS and 993-EdiliziAcrobatica one mile further down. Negotiation  of the Occidentale de Sein will be crucial for this group as well.

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr

The two leading boats have tacked after more than 30 hours on starboard tack. The 1019-TeamWork is still resisting the 969-POGO FOILER and they are now approaching the Breton coast. The 850-Pays d’Iroise is hanging on about 6 nautical miles behind. The 800-Irina Gracheva Racing and the 787 – DECOSAIL are 10 miles behind the leader.

In the Series, 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site is leading the Pogo 3s – 947-Race For Pure Ocean, 920-SIGNFORCOM, 914-Velotrade and 966-LES ALPHAS – by a short margin, while the Italians on 993-EdiliziAcrobatica are still a little further out in the fleet. It’s difficult to say who will be first at the penultimate mark of the course, the West Sein buoy. Whether it’s the duelling prototypes, the fratricidal Pogo’s or the Italian outsiders, the bets are on!

The end of the race is approaching, the first boats are expected to arrive in Douarnenez at around 3am and the last boats, who are currently 70 nautical miles behind, should cross the line more than 24 hours after the winners.

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr

This morning the 969-POGO FOILER  caught up with  1019-TeamWork. At 10:00 am the two boats are sailing side by side and have opened up a gap of about 8 nautical miles with  the other prototypes: the 850-Pays d’Iroise, the 800-Irina Gracheva Racing, the 787-DECOSAIL and the 930-Cassiopee are all challenging for  third place. Five miles further on, Vector 993-EdiliziAcrobatica has drifted a little south of the Pogo 3 pack led by 886-HALTOFLAME / ilots.site.

As for the rear of the fleet, they’re looking for some  wind. The thunderstorms rumbling over the Bay of Biscay are undoubtedly the first signs of the forthcoming weather change.

Translated into English by www.abitrad.fr